Three of Ridgefield's finest honored for exceptional service

Published 1:00 am, Friday, April 10, 2009

RIDGEFIELD -- When Police Officer John Gogola was the first to arrive at the scene of a house fire on Jan. 12, he put all thoughts of personal safety aside and rushed inside.

On Wednesday, Gogola was presented with the department's
Exceptional Service
Award for his actions.

"When I arrived, flames were coming through the windows and walls, flames were shooting through the roof of the garage. My first thought was, 'Is anyone inside?'" Gogola said. "I kicked in the front door and ran in."

Fortunately, no one was inside that day when the home of John and Lorraine Brice on Turtle Ridge Court burned to the ground. But as Gogola choked back smoke and ran through the first and second floors of the house calling out for anyone to respond, there could have been any of four family members there. His was an act of bravery that could have saved lives.

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Gogola, a nine-year veteran on the force, was not alone in receiving the Exceptional Service Award on Wednesday. Officer
Scott Tydeman
and Detective
Steve Papstein
also received the honor for their investigation of a series of arson fires.

The fires had been set in the Main Street section of Ridgefield from September through November 2008. Their investigation lead to the apprehension of the alleged arsonist,
Christopher Garill
, a chef at Bernard's restaurant on West Lane. Garill is now in jail in pre-trial detention.

"I really think it was a town effort," said Tydeman, a 22-year veteran on the force who was in the detective bureau at the time of the fires. "Members of the community and businesses in town all cooperated in our investigation. We can't do it all."

Garill is accused of setting four fires, conducting acts of criminal mischief and engaging in burglary over the two-and-a-half month period.

"The community was very scared," Tydeman said.

"Everybody was very good in working with us," said Papstein, a 20-year veteran on the force. "This was one of the more important cases we'd handled because of the recklessness of it and the fact that it was ongoing."